DNSHE Free Domains: Stable Subdomains and DNS Management for Developers

What DNSHE Provides and Who It Is For

Registering a top-level domain costs money and requires a paying relationship with a registrar. DNSHE fills the gap for developers, students, and open-source projects that need a working domain name for demos, CI/CD pipelines, API endpoints, portfolios, or early-stage projects without that cost.

DNSHE is described in the README as built by a Singapore youth public-interest team. It provides free subdomain registration under four public suffixes, full DNS record management (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SRV, and CAA record types), a management dashboard, and a REST API for programmatic workflows. No credit card is required for the basic free domain service.

The repository itself is a public information hub: it contains the README, documentation in a docs/ directory, and usage instructions. It is not a software package to clone and run locally. The service is operated at dnshe.com and my.dnshe.com.

Available Suffixes and Their Intended Use Cases

The README documents four open registration suffixes, each with a recommended use case:

- .de5.net: tech blogs, portfolios, demos, and open-source projects. Described as short and developer-friendly. - .us.ci: CI/CD, SaaS, API endpoints, and testing environments. The README recommends this suffix specifically for automation workflows. - .cc.cd: personal brands, design studios, and creative projects. Described as memorable and suitable for public showcases. - .bot.cd: AI bots, chat assistants, webhooks, and automation projects. Built specifically for bot and automation use cases.

The README notes that more suffixes may be available after signing into the DNSHE Console. Availability, limits, renewal rules, and registration requirements are subject to the dashboard and service policies, not fixed by the repository content.

How to Register a Domain and Configure DNS

The README's Quick Start section describes a five-step process:

1. Create an account at dnshe.com or the DNSHE Client Area at my.dnshe.com/register.php. 2. Open the Domain Hub at my.dnshe.com/index.php?m=domain_hub. 3. Search for an available domain prefix and choose a supported suffix. 4. Register the domain and configure DNS records in the dashboard. 5. Keep contact information current and renew or manage the domain according to the dashboard rules.

The registration process does not require a credit card for the basic free service. DNS record management, including A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SRV, and CAA records, is handled through the dashboard interface.

The README does not document a command-line registration flow. Registrations go through the web dashboard or the REST API.

REST API for Automation and CI/CD

DNSHE's REST API covers domain and DNS record management programmatically. The API documentation is at my.dnshe.com/knowledgebase/1/Free-Domain-Name-Service-API-User-Manual. Access tokens are managed through the Domain Hub.

The README describes API-driven workflows as suitable for scripts, CI/CD pipelines, deployment pipelines, testing environments, and certificate workflows (such as ACME DNS-01 challenges for Let's Encrypt). The .us.ci suffix is specifically recommended for these automation use cases.

The README includes a direct note about security practice: keep API keys, tokens, SSH keys, and account credentials private, and do not commit secrets to public repositories. This is standard practice but worth noting because DNS credentials can be used to perform domain hijacking or disrupt a live service if leaked.

The API supports programmatic creation and deletion of DNS records, which is the mechanism behind automated certificate issuance through DNS-01 ACME challenges. A tool like acme.sh or Certbot can use the DNSHE API to complete a DNS-01 challenge, proving domain ownership to a certificate authority without exposing an HTTP server. The API documentation at my.dnshe.com/knowledgebase/1/Free-Domain-Name-Service-API-User-Manual covers the specific endpoints and authentication headers required.

Acceptable Use Limits and What Gets Domains Suspended

DNSHE operates shared infrastructure under shared root domains. The README documents a specific list of prohibited activities: phishing, fraud, impersonation, fake login pages, credential theft, malware, botnets, command-and-control nodes, spam, DDoS, unauthorized scanning, brute-force activity, proxy abuse, ban evasion, copyright or trademark infringement, illegal content, bulk abuse, automated quota bypass, resale, rental, or unauthorized sharing of account resources.

When abuse is detected, DNSHE may remove DNS records, suspend domains, restrict accounts, refuse renewals, preserve evidence, or report to upstream providers or authorities. An abuse reporting channel is available at dnshe.com/domainabuse/ and by email at [email protected].

Because DNSHE domains resolve under shared root domains (.de5.net, .us.ci, .cc.cd, .bot.cd), abuse from any user on the platform can lead to those root domains being blocklisted by spam filters or security vendors, affecting all users on the same suffix. This is a structural risk of any shared-subdomain service.

The abuse contact information reflects that the platform takes shared infrastructure risk seriously. For a developer whose project is legitimate, this policy is standard. For a project that sits in an ambiguous category (such as a security research tool or a proxy service), reviewing the full Terms of Service at dnshe.com/tos.html before registration avoids a later forced migration.

DNSHE Versus Paid Domain Registrars and Other Free Services

Paid registrars such as Namecheap, Cloudflare Registrar, or Porkbun offer top-level domain names (for example .com or .dev) starting at roughly the cost of a few dollars per year. Those domains belong to the registrant and renew on fixed yearly cycles. DNSHE offers free subdomains with a 180-day renewal window and no cash value, meaning the service can be suspended or terminated by the operator for reasons unrelated to the registrant's behavior.

The README's disclaimer states: "Free services have no cash value and may be limited, reviewed, suspended, or terminated for security, compliance, operational, or abuse-prevention reasons." This is the key distinction. A DNSHE subdomain is infrastructure borrowed from a public service rather than a purchased asset.

Other free subdomain services exist (the README's related searches include DigitalPlat as a comparable option). The differentiation DNSHE offers, per the README, is Anycast DNS and a 180-day renewal window, plus the .bot.cd suffix targeted at AI and automation projects. The Anycast DNS claim in the repository description implies geographic distribution of DNS resolution, which reduces lookup latency compared to a single-datacenter resolver.

Legal Responsibility, Privacy, and Service Continuity

The README is explicit about where legal responsibility sits: user-generated content uploaded, hosted, published, resolved, or distributed through DNSHE is the user's responsibility. DNSHE acts as an infrastructure service provider and does not endorse or assume responsibility for user content or business activities.

Full Terms of Service are at dnshe.com/tos.html and the Privacy Policy is at dnshe.com/privacy.html. The README directs users to read the full terms before using the service. The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are not reproduced in the repository.

The last push to this repository was on 2026-06-13. The repository has no GitHub releases, which is consistent with its nature as a documentation hub rather than a software package. Support contact is [email protected] for account, domain, DNS, API, and partnership questions.

Editorial conclusion

DNSHE is a practical option for developers, students, and open-source projects that need a stable subdomain without paying for a registered domain. The 180-day renewal window and the dashboard-based management lower the barrier compared to a paid registrar. The main risk is continuity: the README states that free services have no cash value and may be limited, reviewed, suspended, or terminated for security, compliance, operational, or abuse-prevention reasons. Teams with production dependencies on a DNSHE subdomain should verify the current Terms of Service before committing, and should plan for the possibility of migration if the service changes its policies. The last push to the repository was on 2026-06-13.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. dnshe/DNSHE-FreeDomains on GitHub
2. Issues
3. License: MIT
4. README